The weekend of the 30th of Sept 23 we drove to Sauerland to spend some days training under guidance of Willem van Loenen & Trudy den Boesterd.
Willem is known for his all round gundog work with his golden retrievers – he is competing on international level and has previously won the Dutch Championships. His lovely wife Trudy is also an experienced handler competing on national top level in the Netherlands with her golden retriever.
What I love about this couple – apart from their jolly company – is how they live and train from positive training principles with respect and love for the dogs.
We arrived Friday at noon and after a short check in we went off to the fields. Wim tested the combinations on focus, steadyness and basic retrieves. It was clear that many of our flatcoats needed more focus on their handlers and their tasks and Wim started explaining how handlers can create focus and attention.
After the training we enjoyed dinner and German beer at hotel Klaukenhof.
The next morning I was surprised at breakfast with a birthday celebration – I absolutely enjoyed it and the delicious cake created an energetic start of the day.
The morning training was time for “the young dogs” to train focus and cleanliness in the retrieves. We had 5 dogs from our Aura litter in the group: Lotte Kaspar Jason Shelby & Spyke. Halfsister Ragne & Ylva of two years old did a great job following the slightly older Flatastics. All the technical challenges like marking in a different terrain and running uphill – dealing with sound moving in echo was a non issue – but walking at tight heel and keeping focus in double retrieves was a bigger challenge. As always the core is at the handlers address and we were put to opt our game. Thank you for that Willem & Trudy!
Saturday afternoon was time for the experienced dogs to enjoy the space for long marks and hilly lining. What a great place to extend distances..
Saturday morning we took some time to get in action – my birthday party with bbq and German beer was enough to make us a bit rusty in the morning. But no mercy – we took the training up a nudge – tracking with cold game – double retrieves and distractions for the young dogs.
What a weekend it was – we ended the fantastic time together with a lunch in the field – receiving feedback and summing up from Wim and Trudy. We were all so pleased with all the insights and new inspiration – and above all we enjoyed our time together.
For me this weekend was not only special because of my birthday- more so because it was so pleasurable to see how the littermates of my dogs have developed and how much pleasure we have with the dogs together.
Thank you all for being a part of this adventure.
Flatastic flatcoated retrievers 